Managed Care Providers

• Chiropractors who contract with a managed care network agree to accept the fee schedule for chiropractic treatment the managed care organization offers. In some cases, a patient is responsible for paying a copayment at each visit until an annual deductible is met. After that the insurance company pays the percentage of the chiropractor's fees to which the doctor and insurer have agreed. As with other specialty medicines, the patient's primary care physician must make the referral for chiropractic care.
  
  

Group Health Insurance

• In an effort to offer health consumers more options for health care, many group health insurance plans pay for complementary and alternative medicine treatment modalities such as chiropractic care. The types of chiropractic services that are covered can vary. While most insurance plans will cover basic chiropractic care, some plans will not cover the cost of x-rays or the initial chiropractic consultation and physical assessment. Some insurance companies will pay for chiropractic care only if treatment is considered medically necessary. To qualify as medically necessary, a patient must have a documented neuromusculoskeletal disorder and show improvement within two weeks of starting chiropractic care.
  
  

Other Third-Party Insurers

• Although many private insurance companies pay for chiropractic care, not all types of chiropractic treatments are covered. Sometimes an insurance company pays only in part. Find out before scheduling an appointment what treatments are covered and whether a particular treatment is covered in full. Likewise, not all chiropractors accept all types of health insurance.
  
  Workers' compensation and some auto insurance plans also cover chiropractic treatment. For workers' compensation to cover, the injury requiring treatment must be work related.
  
  

Chiropractic Insurance and Discount Plans

• Some insurance companies offer special insurance policies that just cover chiropractic care. Even though a policy is relatively inexpensive, the cost of purchasing this additional insurance may be worth it only if you see a chiropractor for treatment on a routine basis. Moreover, if a plan has a high deductible, it may cost less to pay chiropractic expenses out of pocket.
  
  Many insurance companies also offer discount plans to help pay the costs of chiropractic care. A patient pays the discounted fee directly to the chiropractor. The insurance company does not reimburse any of the cost.